The Blonde Look

The biggest hair trends over the last few summers have been to bleach the absolute shit out of your hair on the ends and maybe even brush the colour throughout your hair to create those perfect beachy waves.

When I first got my hair done, $300 later, I was told my hair was in the “beginning stages” of what I wanted. So my hair looked auburn, with slightly blonder ends to match. After 3 sessions and $600 later, I achieved the look I was going for. I had my natural brown roots, fading into icy blonde tips. But, my hair was completely damaged, and I found that in a matter of weeks, my hair would begin turning more and more gold and brassy.

BEFORE: When I first got my hair done…light, white blonde, and dramatic!AFTER: My hair begins turning dull, brassy and is dryer than ever!

Despite using the $65 purple shampoo I bought to keep my hair fresh and toned, the colour was not fade-proof and would become discoloured despite my best efforts. This meant that my $600 investment left me with frail, discoloured hair. Sure, I had my good hair days and I received many compliments during this time, but in no way was all of this effort worth the outcome of my hair. So I decided to say “k bye” to the blonde and dye my hair brown myself.

I went with a “no ammonia dye.” This means that the hair dye is demi-permanent, containing developer, and does not damage your hair like a permanent dye would. Before dying my hair, I watched this video:

This video explains the difference between a semi-permanent and demi-permanent dye. Usually people think that a demi-permanent dye will wash out, but it does not! And, if you ever use a semi-permanent dye expecting it to wash out, it definitely won’t either! All dye stains your hair, despite promises these companies make. It will “wash out in 20 washes,” these days I don’t believe it for a second. This distrust comes from my grade 8 graduation picture with the half brown, half red hair look I achieved after a semi-permanent dye catastrophe.

Anyways, after much debate, I decided to take my frosted ends from blonde to brown and not spend another $1 at the hair salon. I was fed-up!

The Process

First, I used Casting Crème Gloss from L’Oréal Paris, and despite the mixed reviews on the product website—my hair turned out amazing!

I used the 6G ‘light golden brown’ colour first, because I wanted to make sure that I covered all of the blonde, before I went straight to brown. I had a few grey streaks in my hair too, so I was worried about covering them, but this did the job. My hair was red-ish after the dye job, but it was to be expected after covering white blonde colour.

Next, I used the 4 ‘dark brown’ colour, and the results were exactly what I wanted. I now have dark brown hair, without the crazy hair salon costs involved! And, the hair dye didn’t stink up my entire house with that horrible chemical smell.

The Brown Look

My hair was very dry at first, but I bought a coconut oil hair mask (found at Shoppers Drug Mart) to leave-in overnight, and in the morning my hair was soft and silky again. After dying my hair and bleaching it, I need to go easy on it and refrain from shampooing and conditioning my hair every day. But, I am happy with the results of this product, and I found it extremely easy to do.

AFTER: Back to brown and loving it!

Tip: Use a comb to part your hair into sections, and bobby pin the sections you have dyed up. Then get someone to help you out with the back of your hair so that you don’t miss any sections.

UPDATE: I have found that my hair is incredibly dry at the tips, but I have been using hair masks, sprays, and the like, which help a LOT. Make sure that you don’t wash your hair every day and are doing deep conditioning treatments! Stay away from the heat too…